Stitch by Stitch
by GryffindorCriss
Summary: "After the trouble of just conceiving this baby, the one they were told was a miracle, the idea of putting their life at risk was simply unacceptable" (OR: Tina's rather difficult pregnancy)
1. Chapter 1

**Here is the Newtina!miracle baby!pregnancy!fic!**

 **Set in early-December 1940**

 **Phoenix – 22nd June 1931 – 9 (going on 10)  
Linnet – 13th January 1933 - 7 (nearly 8)  
Leo – 3rd March 1935 – 5 (going on 6) (YES LEO HAS KATHERINE'S BIRTHDAY, AND SO THEIR BIRTHDAYS ARE TOMORROW)**

 **Apparently Hanukkah in 1940 was 24th Decemeber (i.e. Christmas Eve) so they discuss celebrating both holidays.**

 **Angst warning ahead! Also, only the slightest implied hint of sex – and it's story-based, I promise! It's not graphic either.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Scamander!"

Tina tried not to wince at the sound of Crawford's voice – it was never a good sign if he was calling her name like that, and she dreaded having to talk to him for he was more often than not unreasonable. "Yes, sir?"

Crawford – a tall but beefy man with far too much neck – damn near _slammed_ his hands down on her desk, glowering unpleasantly. "You declined your status change, Scamander!"

"Oh. Yes," She said uneasily. "I did."

"Why in God's name have you done that?!" He growled. "You do realize the repercussions for doing such a thing, I trust? Stripping your title, you'll lose your job – and if you think you can get rehired again, then you have another thing coming-"

"I can't go on active leave," She interrupted, forcing herself to look apologetic. "I'm…sorry, sir, but I can't because…because I'm having a baby in May."

Crawford's jaw dropped. "A baby?!" She nodded uneasily, and he threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Oh, for Merlin's sake…bloody typical!"

"I'm not going on active leave while I'm pregnant," Tina continued firmly, sitting back in her chair. "The Ministry has laws about these kinds of things, as you'll know, and I don't intend to risk my baby's life by leaving the country to fight."

"This is the fourth time," He growled, glaring at her. "You've got another three children – why do you need another one? Bloody women, having babies…"

Tina bristled, her own anger rising. "Well, _forgive me_ , sir, if my husband and I wanted another child – I didn't know we had to ask _your_ permission before having them."

"Don't be smart with me, Scamander," Crawford snapped. "Your late brother-in-law may have put up with it, but I certainly won't."

"Theseus is _missing_ ," She corrected tersely. "Not killed."

"He's been missing for four months," He stated. "He's as good as dead. Now," Crawford leaned over her, and she resisted the urge to gag at the overwhelming smell of his cologne. "You might have gotten away with it this time, Scamander, but you can't hide forever. As soon as we're legally able – once that _baby_ is out – we're sending you off to fight; is that clear?"

Tina wished she could hex him – she wanted nothing more – but he _was_ her boss and she knew it would be best not to. "Yes, sir," She bit out.

As he stormed out of her office, muttering about 'blasted women' and 'stupid babies', Tina sagged in her chair and placed her head in her hands; despite what she'd said, she had the horrible feeling that Crawford had been right regarding Theseus – she didn't want to give up hope, if only for Newt's sake, but it seemed more and more unlikely that he was still alive. It didn't help that she now had to deal with _this_ , with her own boss hating her just for being pregnant – it was going to make the last few months before she went on leave _very_ unpleasant indeed.

 _Once that baby is out, we're sending you off to fight_.

She tried not to shudder at the thought; it wasn't that she didn't _want_ to fight, but _surely_ there were laws about going on leave to have babies? Surely they'd give her a few weeks, at the very least, to recover and spend time with her family?

 _Stop worrying,_ Tina scolded herself, _What is it Newt says? "Worrying means you suffer twice". It'll all work out eventually._

She just wish she knew _how_.

* * *

Tina was late home for dinner that night and he noticed – he always noticed. She was late home most nights, he'd soon realized, and while it was no longer surprising when she didn't come home until late it still made him feel rather anxious all the same.

"I put the children to bed," Newt told her quietly, watching as she took a seat at the kitchen table and slipped off her shoes. "They've had their tea – would you like me to make you something?"

She waved her hand dismissively however. "I'm not hungry, really – bad nausea and all that. But thanks."

He couldn't help himself from frowning; she seemed to be getting thinner and thinner despite the fact she was pregnant, and he would have been lying if he said it didn't make him feel slightly troubled. "It's fine, love, I don't mind cooking you something; perhaps some soup or something light?"

"I'm fine," She repeated, and gave him a _look_ – he knew that look well, that it meant not to push a subject further. "Honestly, Newt, please don't worry about me. I just wanna go to bed."

"I'm not worrying," He denied half-heartedly. "But I just thought…never mind. You get some rest, dear, and I'll settle everyone in the case for the night."

He watched as she retreated upstairs, her whole body seeming to sag with exhaustion, and he couldn't help but sigh to himself; he knew his wife was more than capable of looking after herself, that she was perfectly able to choose what she did – but that didn't stop him from caring and wanting the best, after all. He knew she was adamant about continuing to work, and that she had more than enough on her plate as it was – the new baby, their three children, her worry over how Jacob and Queenie's family were settling in, how successful their bakery was… He was hoping that perhaps she might allow herself to relax more with the family's mixed celebration of Hanukkah and Christmas (for they both began 24th December this year) but with the way things were going it looked unlikely.

 _I'll have to ask Jacob to put some pastries aside for us,_ Newt thought to himself – hopefully Tina would allow herself to indulge in some of her brother-in-law's delicious baking.

With that thought, he also wondered if it might make her feel better to invite the entire Kowalski family over for the holidays – they were also multi-faith, he knew, and it would be surely be wonderful if they all spent both holidays together as a family. Tina would certainly enjoy getting to celebrate Hanukkah with Queenie again, and it was this that made him resolve to remember to invite them as soon as possible.

Everything would be fine in the end, he told himself – it was just a matter of waiting.

* * *

It hadn't escaped her notice that she was rapidly losing weight – she was of course more than aware.

For one thing, her clothes had become looser instead of tighter, like one would have expected during a pregnancy – and then there were her bones. She could feel them jutting out when she was in the bath or getting dressed in the morning, sharp and poking out almost dangerously. At first she had managed to convince herself that it wasn't anything to be worried about – she had always been rather thin, even as a young girl, and the fact that the country was under a rationing scheme didn't particularly help either; to add, the nausea from the pregnancy was making it quite impossible for her to keep her food down on some days, and it often left her feeling rather ravenous. Tina had put up with it, though, telling herself that it wouldn't last long.

But then she had started feeling faint.

That immediate rang alarm bells in her mind; as an Auror, she was trained to have quick-wits and keen senses – to feel faint would compromise that completely, make her vulnerable if she were to go out on a mission or raid. Tina knew that feeling fatigued or close to fainting could harm either herself of the baby – and after the trouble of just _conceiving_ this baby, the one they were told was a _miracle_ , the idea was unacceptable.

 _Perhaps I should tell Newt…_

But she knew what he would do; he would worry over her (though deny that he was 'worrying', merely 'fretting') and attempt to force her to see a Healer, and she knew that St. Mungo's had enough to deal with already during this war without her turning up and complaining of feeling hungry and faint.

No, she just had to be careful and wait the morning sickness out, Tina reasoned to herself, for she was four months along now – the nausea had to disappear soon.

 _Once that goes, I can eat normally again_ , she told herself tiredly as she clambered into bed late one night, careful not to wake up her husband; _I'll be fine – no point in complaining over going hungry since everyone else is too._

* * *

It was cold a few nights later when he felt her hesitantly touching him through his pyjama bottoms, and he groaned without opening his eyes.

"I know you're awake," Tina murmured, and there was an amused tone in her voice.

"Not quite – but if you keep touching me like that I will be," Newt joked, and it made him grin when she laughed. "Come here then."

It hadn't taken long to start working on her pyjama buttons, kissing her fiercely as she straddled him, and as soon as he was able he pushed the shirt from her shoulders eagerly. With that out of the way, he started to run his hands over her torso, desperate to feel her. Usually when she was pregnant she had been somewhat plumper, even when just a few months along, and he'd loved exploring those new curves – but something was different this time.

She was barely anything but skin and bone – his wife had always been slender and fit, working as an Auror, but this…this was closer to _malnourished_ than fit.

"Tina," He gasped, pulling away from her. "You're so _thin_."

Tina looked confused for a moment – and then her expression changed to one of hurt. "Oh…sorry."

"Hang on," Newt muttered hurriedly when she tried to move away from him. "Tina, love, look at me." She did, and he wasn't particularly surprised to see that she looked decidedly upset. "I didn't mean it like that…I just meant-"

"I know," She said quietly, avoiding his gaze. "I'm sorry. We don't have to…if it makes you feel uncomfortable or anything…"

He shook his head, his grip on her tightening just a tad. "No, no…it's not like that, I was just…haven't you been eating?"

Her cheeks seemed to go pink. "Of course I have! It's just…well, it keeps coming back up. But I'm fine, honestly," She added hurriedly. "I'm eating properly, I really am. Please, can we carry on?"

Part of Newt wanted to continue asking her – wanted to know why she was so thin, why she was losing weight and not getting any larger despite being pregnant…but he also didn't want to push her. It was clearly a topic that made Tina uncomfortable, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel _uncomfortable_ of all things.

It was for this reason he didn't say a word, instead silently nodding and returning the kiss she pressed against his mouth. The concern could wait for another night, he told himself, when she wasn't as stressed or anxious – they'd talk it over fully then.

* * *

"…I hope the baby is a girl."

Phoenix scrunched up his nose at her, forgetting momentarily about his task of setting the table for breakfast. " _No_ , it should be a boy – we don't need another girl."

"I _want_ a sister," Linnet huffed. "I've got _two_ brothers, and I _don't_ want another one; I'm the only girl and it's _not_ fair. I don't want another brother because you two are bad enough! Well…" She paused thoughtfully. " _You're_ awful – Leo is okay."

Tina gave a huff as she rubbed at her temples. "Lin, stop being mean to your brother. Phoenix, stop trying to provoke a reaction from her."

"But-"

"Leo's not causing any noise," She interrupted, and her eyes flitted over to her youngest son; he was sat at the breakfast table with a copy of Newt's book in his lap. He couldn't read it by himself yet, but he did still enjoy the illustrations. "Come on, guys, I've gotta get to work – I don't have time for this."

Phoenix and Linnet both looked guilty.

"Sorry, Mum…"

"Yes, sorry, Mummy."

Newt arrived downstairs just a few minutes later, top buttons of his shirt undone and his waistcoat hanging open casually; he set to making breakfast immediately, much to Tina's relief, and directed her to the kitchen table.

"Sit down, love," He said gently. "I'll get you some tea and you can relax before work."

Though she was certain he was trying to _mother_ her (the irony didn't escape her), she was also rather grateful all the same. "Thanks."

The kitchen was soon full of the chatter of the children as they laughed and talked excited about the upcoming holidays; they were all looking forward to lighting their menorahs, Leo especially, and they were soon discussing gifts they might like.

"We're lucky," Linnet told Newt happily. "Because we get presents for Hanukkah _and_ from Santa."

"You are very lucky," He agreed fondly. "All three of you – and just think, next year you'll have another brother or sister to celebrate with."

"Hopefully a brother," Phoenix muttered under his breath.

Newt pretended not to hear this. "You can teach them about the Festival of Lights, and about the North Pole, and then when they get older you'll be able to help them with their menorah."

"Mine is the best," Leo proclaimed, beaming at his father. "It's got lots of colours on it."

As Newt chuckled to himself, rather amused, he noticed that Tina was staring down at the table – and she looked _extremely_ pale. "Hang on… Tina, love, are you feeling alright?"

The children swivelled in their seats to look at her curiously; Phoenix frowned to himself, clearly realizing quickly that something wasn't quite right, and Linnet started to gnaw on her lip.

Leo leaned against her side, clutching the fabric of her work jacket. "Mummy? What's the matter? Are you feeling bad again?"

"'m fine," She assured him half-heartedly, though she looked about ready to vomit. "I…I think I'll have to miss out on breakfast… I'll be back in a minute."

Newt watched as she suddenly bolted from her seat and left the kitchen, and his stomach dropped; she hadn't eaten the evening before, and he doubted she was eating much at work. He knew morning sickness was common throughout pregnancy (and not always in the morning) but something was decidedly _off_ about this.

Phoenix seemed to follow this train of thought and took a deep breath before turning to his now-silent siblings. "We should visit Auntie Queenie after breakfast – perhaps Toby and Daisy and the twins would like to play?"

Linnet looked significantly cheered up by this. "Yes, we should; I want to see Daisy's room still!"

Leo looked to Newt for confirmation, somewhat unsure. "Daddy, can I…Can I bring your book?" Leo asked quietly. "I wanna show Auntie Queenie."

Queenie, of course, was more than acquainted with his book – but Newt grinned and nodded. "Of course, Leo; I'm sure she'd love to sit with you and read it."

His youngest son beamed, turning to his brother and sister excitedly; Newt, meanwhile, found himself silently fretting over Tina in his head – she was more than capable of looking after herself, but still…something wasn't _right_.

 _Perhaps Queenie will be able to help_ , He thought to himself, and that made some sense: she had more than enough experience with these things, after all, and she'd be able to give him some advice on what to do.

Yes, a visit to the Kowalski family's new home would probably be useful.

* * *

In the last few weeks since the Kowalskis had begun to settle in their new home in Dorset, the house had begun to gain some rather colourful decorations; Newt greatly suspected the pink was all Queenie's choosing.

His sister-in-law was humming as she finished stirring some coffee in a mug, and she wrinkled her nose up as she approached him. "The coffee here is still awful."

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid we specialise more in tea," Newt said lightly, the corners of his mouth twitching up a tad. "Tina gave up after the first month and just switched to tea – you could try that."

"I'd rather not." The mugs set themselves on the table, and she smiled at him. "Well, it sure is nice of you to bring the kids 'round – but you've got something else on your mind, haven't you?"

"You know I do."

Queenie nodded, biting her lip as she read over his thoughts. "Yeah… Oh, that's not normal…"

"It's not?"

"Teenie's…what? Four months?" He had barely given a nod when she sighed. "Oh, honey – she needs a doctor at this rate."

"So I'm not overreacting?"

Queenie shook her head, sighing to herself. "No, honey, you ain't. You should ask her to go to a doctor or something…but she's stubborn."

"Dreadfully so," Newt agreed quietly.

"She's always been skinny," Queenie mused absentmindedly. "But she's lost so much weight there's barely anything of her – you wouldn't think she's four months along… Poor Teenie…"

"I don't think the near-constant morning sickness is helping," He added miserably, ignoring his tea. "Merlin, she's barely eating at home, and I have a feeling she's not eating at work either. I don't want to force her or anything, but…but I want her to be healthy."

The blonde witch gave him a sympathetic look. "Of course you do, Newt. It ain't healthy for her to be like this though, and if she can't keep food down 'cause of morning sickness…well, there's potions for that, right?"

"Ah. Yes. But…"

Queenie bit her lip. "They're expensive," She finished for him. "The war and trading…I see. I'd brew her one, you know, no problem, but I ain't got the ingredients or a cauldron yet."

There was a long silence between the two of them, the only sound being that of the children playing in the rooms upstairs. Finally, after taking a sip from his mug, Newt sat back in his seat and fixed his eyes on the table. "So…What do you suggest that I do then?"

"Sweetie, I know it's difficult…" She paused. "Oh, you wanted Jacob to make pastries?"

"Well…I thought it couldn't hurt," Newt admitted, trying not to pink at how easily she had read his mind. "And only if he doesn't mind – I know he's working extra hours to make sure the bakery is doing well."

"He'd be more than happy to," Queenie assured him without hesitation. "Family's gotta come first, no matter what. I'll let him know. Other than that…a doctor?"

He tried not to sigh to himself; it was probably his best option, really, but he doubted as to whether or not she'd willingly go to a Healer to be examined – she'd insist everything was fine, that she could handle things even when she couldn't. Tina was stubborn and determined; it was what he loved about her, but sometimes it could also be a slight obstacle too.

"Let me talk to her," Queenie said suddenly, leaning across the table and putting a hand on his arm. "Maybe I can talk some sense into her, you know? Besides, Hanukkah's gonna be soon – that and Christmas, right? I'm sure she'll gain some weight over the holidays."

 _Hopefully_ , Newt thought to himself, not even bothering to attempt to close his mind; _I just want this to be a normal pregnancy, for Merlin's sake, as stress-free and relaxed as possible_.

It didn't escape his notice that Queenie was frowning to herself as she sipped her coffee, clearly troubled in her own thoughts.

* * *

"SCAMANDER!"

Tina jumped – she couldn't help it; partly because the voice had been a shout, and also because she had, admittedly, been close to dozing off over her paperwork.

She was hurriedly rubbing her eyes when Crawford strode into the room, face bright purple with fury. "YOU!"

"What have I done now?" She asked, trying to hide the exhaustion from her voice. "I'm doing the paperwork you assigned me, sir-"

"You interfered with the case I assigned Nott!"

Oh, that. Tina straightened in her seat, trying not to go red. "Sir, I can explain… Nott was stuck, he didn't know what he was doing; he hasn't had the proper training, hasn't had long enough – none of the recruits have. I only stepped in because he asked me to."

"I don't care whether he _begged_ you to take the case," Crawford snarled. " _I_ am the one in charge – you follow _my_ orders. Do you understand?"

"Of course," She agreed quickly, wary of angering him further. "Sir, I won't interfere anymore but…but if you perhaps let me go back to helping the recruits _train_ -"

"We don't have the time to waste on _training_!" He snapped. "You don't seem to understand, do you? Every day that you're sitting here in your little office or at home with your husband, there are good fighters _dying_ across the ocean. Good young men and women who have barely lived their lives… We need all the fighters we can get, whether they're trained or not."

Tina gnawed on her lip. "I…I know, sir. I know that people are dying – I knew many of them. I…I _trained_ with some of them before they were sent away…" Her heart caught in her throat and she silently willed it to go down again. "But these recruits aren't going to survive if we don't train them."

Crawford heaved a sigh, shaking his head at her. "I won't expect you to understand, Scamander – women never do seem to understand the importance of these things, not once they've had babies."

"I do," She gritted out, tensing at his words. "With all due respect, sir, I've been here longer than you have."

"No, you don't," Crawford disagreed with a sneer, turning away from her. "Have you been to fight? Have you seen the torture some of our teams are put through? Have you seen comrades _die_ in battle? Have you been forced to watch the light leave their eyes?"

Tina was silent, eyes wide.

"I didn't think so." He reached the door and turned to face her one last time. "I won't warn you again, Scamander: if I find out that you've interfered on another Auror's case, I'll be forced to take immediate action. Have I made myself understood?"

"Yes, sir," Tina agreed quietly, feeling rather unwell.

The door had barely closed behind him when she lurched for the bin and vomited what had been her lunch.

* * *

The covers felt far too hot over her, despite the fact it was December, and she just felt so _sore_ – it was probably the nausea again, she thought miserably, and she debated getting up to wait in the toilet just in case she _did_ need to empty her stomach.

Newt turned beside her, yawning loudly; Tina watched him for a moment, thinking and testing how she felt. The ache was getting somewhat worse, like nothing she'd felt before, and something felt decidedly _not right_.

 _Right. I definitely need to get to the toilet._

As she sat up in the bed, however, she was aware of several sensations; firstly, that there was a strange metallic smell wafting nearby, picked up by her already sensitive nose and making her feel sick to her stomach. Secondly, something felt _odd_ …something _sticky_ between her thighs…

Tina hurriedly reached out for her wand and grasped it from the nightstand; she muttered, "Lumos," and immediately looked over herself.

And there was _blood_.

She was a trained Auror, she knew how to remain calm in difficult situations – but even with all of her years of specialised training she found herself panicking.

And she panicked _badly_.

"Newt," She gasped out, reaching to shake him quickly as tears involuntarily started to blur her vision. "Newt, please, wake up! _Please_!"

The desperation in her voice must have done the trick; it took him just a few moments to wake up, his eyes squinting as they adjusted to the darkness. When he saw that she was in _tears_ , he sat up with an alarmed look and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong, love? Tina, love, breathe for me…what's wrong?"

"I…" She choked on a quiet sob. "I'm _bleeding_ , Newt."

* * *

 **I AM FUCKING AWFUL PLEASE FORGIVE ME**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed (HA!) and hopefully a second part will be up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A part of me didn't want to publish this part – I don't feel my writing is as good as some of the other Newtina fanfic writers, as I'm sure you're all aware, but I felt like I had to post it anyway because I don't like leaving things unpublished.**

 **Phoenix – 22nd June 1931 – 9 (going on 10)  
Linnet – 13th January 1933 - 7 (nearly 8)  
Leo – 3rd March 1935 – 5 (going on 6)**

 **(Miracle baby not born yet – Tina's still in her early-stages of pregnancy!)**

 **Tobias "Toby" – 15th October 1929 – 11  
Daisy – 7th April 1931 – 9 (going on 10)  
Abel and Ruth (twins) – 20th November 1933 – 7  
Elijah "Eli" – 28th January 1939 – 1 (nearly 2)**

* * *

The Healers of St. Mungo's had hurriedly rushed Tina away, Newt following closely behind as he talked a mile a minute over what he knew regarding the situation.

"…She's pregnant," He found himself repeating over and over again, voice cracking. "She's about four months along. She's been having morning sickness nearly every day, a-and she's not been eating…"

"Mr Scamander, please," One of the Healers said calmly, raising her brow at him. "Let us do our jobs and everything will be fine."

Newt highly doubted that but he knew he had no other choice – with that in mind, he fell silent and watched as the Healers started casting various charms and spells on his wife.

 _Merlin, please let our baby be okay,_ He found himself think desperately, _The baby has to be…surely they **will** be._

The tests had lasted a few minutes and then the Healers had left the room to confer over their notes; Newt immediately sat down beside Tina, taking her hand and squeezing tightly.

"Newt," She choked out, and her hand squeezed back weakly. "I…I'm sorry. I don't…I couldn't…I didn't mean to…"

"No, don't talk like that," He murmured, resting his chin on top of her head as he pulled her to him. "The baby will be fine, I expect, and so will you. We have to wait and see."

Tina sniffed. "I'm fine, but…but the _blood_ …oh God…if the baby's not alright-"

"Then don't blame yourself," Newt interrupted soothingly. "Tina, love, if…if something _is_ wrong then it won't be your fault. I promise you now that, no matter what, you're not to blame."

"I _tried_ to eat," She said miserably. "I tried but it kept coming back up, and…and I've been so _stressed_ at work, and…and I've probably _hurt_ the baby now. I-I'm so _stupid_ …"

His heart ached in his chest at her words; he was worried (and he'd admit to it this time, sometimes worrying was inevitable) and even _terrified_ that something was wrong with their unborn baby, that perhaps things wouldn't be as lovely as they had hoped. Having said that, there was no way possible he could ever blame his wife for this; she was a giver by nature, and she gave as much as she could all the time – but sometimes it was possible to give too much, to give so much and not think of looking after oneself.

"Don't blame yourself, please, Tina," Newt managed, exhaling heavily. "You're _far_ from stupid, love; you just lost track of things, that's all. Besides, we don't know anything yet – we'll wait for the Healers to come back before jumping to rash conclusions."

When Healer Monroe entered, this time without her colleagues, she closed the door behind her and gave the couple a tight smile – and Newt's stomach lurched because usually that kind of smile signified _bad_ news.

"Mr and Mrs Scamander," Healer Monroe greeted. "Hello. I'll get right down to business, shall I?"

"Please," Tina agreed, voice barely louder than a whisper. Newt found himself clutching her hand even tighter, his body stiffening with tension.

The Healer conjured a seat before sitting down opposite them with her folder resting on her knees. "Now, we've run a few tests to check on what may have caused the bleeding – thankfully, you don't appear to have lost a great deal of blood at all, and we won't have to consider any transfusions of any kind-"

"And the baby?" Newt interrupted hurriedly – perhaps it would be viewed as a tad rude to do such a thing, but in that moment he found himself not caring a bit. "Is our baby alright?" Tina tensed beside him, her breath catching in her throat.

To their surprise, Healer Monroe offered them another smile. "Yes, your baby is perfectly fine."

" _Perfectly fine_ ," Tina repeated dubiously. "And…that's definite?"

"Oh, yes," The Healer agreed, nodding her head. "Very healthy, very strong heartbeat…no abnormalities whatsoever."

Newt couldn't believe his ears, relief flooding over him. "They're fine? Thank Merlin for that… But the _blood_ -"

"Sometimes spotting can happen," The older woman assured him. "Pregnancy often means that there's more blood in the body than usual, so some light bleeding is relatively normal… However, Mrs Scamander, it's important that I stress to you how close you could have been to losing your baby."

"Oh." His wife's shoulders sagged. "I see."

Healer Monroe just sat back in her seat, studying the two of them. "Your pregnancy is very high-risk as it is, Mrs Scamander, considering the diagnosis we gave you a few years ago regarding your fertility – the fact that you've managed to conceive at all now is a _miracle_ , let alone that your baby is as healthy as they are. Now, tell me, you work as an Auror – correct?"

"Yes," Tina admitted quickly. "But I haven't been doing anything dangerous at all – just deskwork and…and things."

"I see. And has there been anything else that might have caused you stress?"

"Well…" She hesitated, and Newt found himself watching her curiously. "My boss at work is…he can be difficult to be around. He shouts a lot."

The Healer nodded. "Yes, that's not at all good for your health – and if it's not good for yours then it's not good for the baby's either. Of course, stress doesn't appear to be the only reason – you're severely underweight, Mrs Scamander, considering how far along you are."

Tina went bright red. "I've _tried_ eating," She defended. "I have, but I can't keep anything down – the morning sickness is _awful_."

"Then you should have come to us sooner," Healer Monroe sighed. "We could have given you something for your nausea in no time… Well, that hardly matters now. We'll keep you in overnight, just to monitor your health and the baby's, and then we'll send you home with an Anti-Sickness potion so that you can eat something properly."

"I can't stay the night," She disagreed. "I have work tomorrow morning."

The Healer frowned then, clearly displeased. "Mrs Scamander, with all due respect, I don't think you should be working while you're pregnant."

Newt winced to himself – he already _knew_ how Tina would take this. Perhaps it would be better to remain silent on the subject, he reasoned, to not side with either of them and cause more stress or tension in the room.

"How dare you?!" His wife seethed half-heartedly, though it was clear she was tired. "I am more than capable of working, thank you very much! I'm not even due until May, that's still five months-"

"You nearly lost your baby tonight," Healer Monroe reminded her seriously. "I understand that it's not what you want to hear, but it's my advice from a professional point-of-view that it would be far safer to stop working until the baby is born."

Sure enough, this made Tina fall silent; her hand was still holding his, somewhat limply, and he squeezed it again to reassure her. "We'll talk it over between us," Newt promised softly, directing it at both Tina and the Healer.

"Yes, it's a matter you two should discuss privately," Healer Monroe agreed. "At the end of the day, I cannot force you to take an early leave, Mrs Scamander, only offer my advice. Now, one of my colleagues should be around shortly with an Anti-Sickness potion so that you can attempt some more sleep. Mr Scamander, if you'd like to stay-"

"I can't," Newt interjected before he could stop himself. "Not really; we left our children with Queenie and Jacob – that is, our brother- and sister-in-law. I don't suppose I can really leave them without any word really…"

"Well, that's your decision. I'll be back later to check you over, Mrs Scamander – do try and get some rest."

They muttered their goodbyes as the Healer left the room – once the door had shut, however, Tina was groaning and pressing her hands against her face. "I'm an idiot, Newt; I let _Crawford_ of all people get to me. I let him stress me out, and now-"

"And now you're stressing again," Newt pointed out; when she didn't look comforted in the slightest, he wrapped an arm around her. "Everything's fine, Tina - you heard her: the baby is perfectly healthy. There's no need to torture yourself over this."

"But I nearly…" She stopped, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I…I nearly killed our baby, Newt – after how difficult it's been to even _get_ here, I nearly _killed_ them…"

"Stop, Tina," He said firmly, his hold on her tightening involuntarily. "You haven't done anything wrong – it's just stress."

Tina nodded, somewhat tearfully. "Yes, stress – _I'm_ stressing and putting the baby in danger." She gave a heavy sigh. "I…I don't _want_ to stop working, I really don't, but if it's going to put the baby at risk…"

"It's your decision," Newt told her softly – he couldn't force her to do anything, of course, for it was _her_ job and _her_ carrying their baby, after all. "Whatever you choose, Tina, I'll stand by it."

"I know you will," She agreed, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

Neither of them said anything else – they didn't need to really.

* * *

"So…how is she?"

Newt gave a shrug. "Fine, really – you know that already though, I suspect."

"Yes," Queenie agreed. "But I'd like to hear you say it – I been worried about her all night."

 _Understandable_. "They kept her in last night," He explained quietly, only too aware that the children could come down the stairs at any minute and overhear. "Everything's fine – Tina's absolutely fine, and the baby's more than healthy."

The blonde witch let out an exhale of relief. "Oh, thank goodness! I was worried, see, since…well." She hesitated, and he didn't have to be a mind-reader to know that she was remembering the heart ache of losing a baby years ago – he knew better than to comment on it. "I'm glad she's okay, though; the kids have been worried sick about her all night – especially Leo."

"Ah."

"They're still sleeping," She continued, putting on a rather half-hearted smile. "I put the boys in the spare room – Linnet was more than happy bunking with Daisy. So, is Teen still at the hospital or…?"

Newt shook his head. "No, no, they released her this morning after giving her some Anti-Sickness potion. She's gone to work."

"To… You let her go to work?!"

"It's hardly my choice whether she goes to work or not," He reminded her dryly – but his shoulders sunk slightly. "She won't be working much longer – she's decided to take an earlier leave than planned, if only for the baby's health."

Queenie looked rather relieved to hear that. "Of course…she's putting the baby first," She said aloud, and he realized she was skimming through his mind again. "She…She ain't happy about it."

"No. I think she feels rather…well…"

"She was worried last night," She murmured, and her eyes seemed to grow teary. "Oh, Newt, honey…she really blamed herself like that?"

He looked down at the floor. "Yes. She did."

"Oh, Teen… We'll come visit tonight," Queenie promised. "Once Jacob gets home, we'll come over to yours; Teenie and I can have a chat, talk things over. Would that be okay, Newt?"

"Of course," Newt agreed, looking up and giving her a somewhat forced smile. "You and Jacob are always more than welcome to come over."

She studied him for a moment, obviously reading through his mind, before reaching out and putting a tentative hand on his arm. "Newt, honey, I'm sure Tina will be okay. I know that this was frightening – _I know_ what it's like," She reminded him sadly. "But I think Teen will be more than okay, and so will the baby. Don't fret too much."

 _If only it were that easy_.

* * *

It was with great trepidation that Tina found herself knocking on the open door to Crawford's office the following afternoon, heart hammering in her chest and stomach fluttering nervously.

He lifted his head at the sound of her knock and gave a great sigh. " _Scamander_ …can I help you?"

"I…I need to talk to you, sir," Tina muttered quietly, stepping into the room.

He gave a nod. "Sit down then."

She linked her hands together over her slightly swollen stomach as she sat down and took a deep breath, preparing herself. "Alright…sir, I…I have a request to make."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "A request?"

"Yes. See, the thing is… I'm four months along," She started nervously. "I'm not due until May, and my plan was to go on leave in April – to continue working until then. I was more than happy with that plan when I gave in my notice, and I _would_ have been happy to continue like that but…but the thing is, I think it's best if I leave earlier."

"Earlier?" Crawford repeated.

"Yes, sir…as in within the next few weeks."

His eyes narrowed. "A few _weeks_?! What in Merlin's name are you playing at, Scamander?"

Tina squared her shoulders, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "The Healers at St. Mungo's have suggested I take an early leave because this pregnancy is high-risk – there was an incident just a couple of nights ago where I nearly…well." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "The stress is putting the baby at risk, and I need to think about the baby first – I know this is far from convenient, and I respect that, but-"

"Scamander." She stopped speaking, looking at him and gnawing her lip; it didn't surprise her that he looked positively _livid_. "You want me to approve you going on an early maternity leave, is that it?" She nodded uneasily. "You honestly expect me to approve of you going on leave four months early?"

"It's not that I want to go on leave," Tina defended hurriedly. "I would happily work until my due date, but the baby has to come first – I'm not about to put my baby at risk."

Crawford sat back in his seat, glaring at her coldly. "There is a war going on as we speak – if our Aurors aren't in Europe fighting Grindelwald's forces, they're here trying to keep the peace and protect the citizens…and you have the audacity to ask to go on a paid leave _early_?"

"Sir-"

He raised a hand to silence her again. "A part of me is tempted to dismiss you completely from the department, to make you pack up your things and leave."

Tina froze, and it seemed as though the world were about to crumble all around her at his words.

"You probably think I hate you – I don't particularly like you, Scamander, but the thing is…well, you're one of the few members left on the Senior Team," He admitted, somewhat grudgingly. "And you _are_ adequate at your job – even I know firing you would be a bad idea." Crawford sat back in his seat, looking down at the table thoughtfully. "I won't fire you, and the Ministry has a law in place that means you get paid for at least half a year – but do _not_ expect any favours. Your leaving puts us in an even more precarious position than we're currently in, and we're not going to tiptoe around the matter just because you're pregnant. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," She agreed quickly, though she wasn't quite sure what was happening really.

"You can go on leave," Crawford continued, looking as though he greatly regretted what he was saying. "But your status will be as a consultant in the meantime – that means you'll be doing some work at home. There'll be owls, I'm sure, wanting advice or for you to fill out some paperwork based on a case-file – that's your responsibility."

It was almost _too good_ to be true, Tina thought to herself – but she didn't dare question it, instead nodding in agreement. "Of course, that'll be more than fine."

Crawford gave a curt nod of his own in response. " _Wonderful_ ," He muttered dryly. "You'll remain here in the offices until the end of the week, and then you'll start in your new position next Monday. Any questions?"

"No, sir."

"Good," He told her, straightening up in his chair. "Now: get out of my office."

* * *

"You know, Teenie, things could have been much worse-"

"I know that."

"You're still miserable."

Tina sighed, shaking her head as she finished preparing food for the Occamys. "I'm fine, really – I got off lucky. He could have actually fired me."

"Then why are you so sad?" Queenie asked, folding her arms. "Don't lie to me, Teen – I'll know."

"Yes, that's true. Alright," She relented, turning to look at her sister. "I'm just…I like working, even with a guy like Crawford breathing down my neck every few minutes. I get a real kick out of working, even if I'm just helping in a house raid. I'm glad I'm not fired, don't get me wrong, and I _do_ want the best for the baby-"

"But you're gonna be bored," The blonde witch finished, and she looked sympathetic. "I know, Teenie – it ain't gonna be fun, having to wait for owls at home and not actually doing much, but it's for a real good cause."

Tina nodded, though she didn't look at all comforted by this. "I know that, Queenie, and that's the only reason I'm doing this – if it didn't put the baby's health at risk, I'd carry on doing assignments as normal."

"You gotta be careful," Queenie stated, and she put a hand on her sister's arm. "Teen, this baby's a real miracle, remember? You don't wanna risk losing a miracle, honey. It's…it's _awful_."

 _Of course, that's why she's so worried,_ Tina thought to herself, and she felt rather terrible for not realizing sooner; _She knows what that's like, after all._

"Oh, Teen," Queenie sighed, shaking her head at her sister's thoughts. "Don't be like that. I ain't offended that you didn't think about me first – you had more than enough on your mind. Anyway," She said brightly, changing the subject. "This kinda talk ain't doing neither of us any good – you should be sitting down too."

"I'm more than capable of feeding baby Occamys," Tina muttered dryly, a fond smile spreading across her face. "I do it pretty much every day – it's like feeding children."

 _Actually…they kind of_ are _children to us in some ways_ , she thought to herself.

Queenie giggled to herself in amusement. "Yeah, I noticed."

* * *

"Let me see now…where's the monkey?"

"On your back, Papa!" Ruth shrieked, laughing to herself.

"Look, Uncle Jacob," Linnet called. "Just behind you!"

Jacob pretended to look clueless, though the grin on his face gave him away; Eli giggled from his perch on his father's back, hands clasped tightly around his neck and legs tight around the torso.

"I don't see no monkey," Jacob fake-pondered. "Are you kids playing with me?"

"No!" Leo disagreed eagerly. "Monkey on your back!"

Newt found himself chuckling under his breath as he watched from the distance; the sight was remarkably similar to how Dougal had clung to Jacob in the department store in New York all those years ago, and the whole game was rather amusing to observe.

Jacob was still looking about the case, pretending to be puzzled, when Eli let out another peal of laughter – and he grinned widely to himself. "Ah-ha! There _is_ a monkey on my back!"

"We told you," Daisy stated, beaming so wide that her cheeks were hurting. "We told you he was on your back, Papa!"

"C'mere!" Eli cackled with laughter as Jacob reached around and lifted the toddler from his shoulders. "I knew it! I knew there was a little monkey back there!"

"P-Papa…tickles!" Eli shrieked happily, wriggling in his father's arms. "S-S-Stop!"

The rest of the children were soon joining in, fingers tickling the boy as he cried out in weak protest; this continued on for quite some time, much to Newt's amusement, and it was only when Linnet announced that she'd seen Dougal wandering about that all of them set off to search. Eli was positively red in the face as Jacob put back down on the ground, still shaking with laughter, and he was soon occupied by the sight of a pair of young Graphorns playing nearby.

"Hey, buddy," Jacob started as he approached. "You sure you don't need any help? I don't mind, honest-"

"No, no," Newt assured him, smiling fondly. "I must say, you're doing a marvellous job keeping them all entertained – usually around this time of year Phoenix and Linnet get rather restless…the excitement of the holidays and all that…"

"Yeah, it's a game we play all the time back at home," His friend chuckled. "Ruth calls Eli, 'Monkey' all the time, 'cause he moves around so much – kid's got a real habit of climbing up on furniture too – and it's starting to really stick. Kids _love_ it."

Newt turned back to the adult Graphorn he had been checking over, still rather amused. "We do the same thing down here all of the time – though I'm usually an Erumpent giving them a ride."

"Ah, man… I'd pay to see that." Jacob affectionately patted the Graphorn on the head, not even wincing when it tried to salivate on him. "Yeah, good to see you too… Say, Newt? How many these things you got now?"

"Well… Bertha – this one," He gestured to the Graphorn he was currently caring for. "She's expecting another baby soon, so that'll be her third. Once she's had that one, providing things go well, that'll make eight."

Jacob looked somewhat surprised. " _Eight_? I thought there'd be more."

"Well, unfortunately a few have passed away," Newt admitted, and he felt himself sadden at the thought. "Old age, mostly, though one did have a rather incurable illness that I couldn't…well. It's rather difficult to breed them, seeing as there are so few in the world left – most of them are in this case."

"Oh. Oh, well, I'm real sorry to hear that," Jacob said sincerely – and Newt knew he really meant it. "Listen, buddy, Queenie and I wanted to thank you for inviting us 'round for the holidays; it means a lot to us, you know? This is gonna be our first Christmas and Hanukah over here, and we wanted it to be special for the kids…"

"It's fine," The Magizoologist assured him without hesitating. "Really, Jacob, when you think about it, you're family. Besides, I know Tina and the children are looking forward to you spending the holidays with us too."

The other man looked touched by this. "Thanks, Newt. Queenie and I, we was actually kinda worrying over how our first holidays over here was gonna go, especially since the kids have only ever spent them in New York, you know? We don't exactly know our ways around the stores or anything either, so…"

"No, Tina and I are more than happy to help on that front too," Newt agreed, and he grinned at his friend. "Just let us know when, and we'll plan a little trip to Diagon Alley soon; we can find just about everything there."

Jacob thanked him again and seemed to be even more animated as he set off to find the children once more; Newt watched him go, and despite the rather stressful time he and Tina were going through currently, he couldn't help but feel somewhat warm at the thought of the entire Kowalski family joining his own for the holidays.

* * *

As it turned out, Hanukkah and Christmas taking place at the same time was not particularly easy to navigate.

In the previous years, Hanukkah had fallen before Christmas and so given the family time between the holidays – but because the two were taking place at the exact same time, it ended up being somewhat more difficult to organize how to celebrate. To add to this, there was the question of whether the entire Kowalski family would be staying overnight or not; Newt and Tina had agreed that they didn't mind the house being crowded, but Jacob and Queenie had both declined.

"I think it's for the best we spend it in the new house," Queenie said to Tina quietly just a few days before the first night of Hanukkah. "Besides, we can come over in the evenings to light the menorahs, and then we'll come over on Christmas early."

It had all been worth it in the end, though; the Kowalskis came to the Scamander home shortly before nightfall on the first night, Queenie and the children with their menorahs. While Newt and Jacob set about making dinner (cooked in olive oil, of course, as was custom), Tina, Queenie and all of the children grouped together in the front room in order to light the first candle on each of their menorahs together as they recited Full Hallel. The younger children – such as the twins and Leo – were carefully watched and helped, of course, and while Eli was currently too young to really celebrate he _did_ watch curiously.

Dinner had started to become slightly more difficult to prepare with each year that the war went on, especially due to the rations, but somehow it was manageable to create a satisfactory meal. The real highlight, of course, had been when Queenie pulled out her wand and made jelly doughnuts in the air above everyone's heads – Jacob was momentarily stunned at how fluid it looked, even after so many years, and the children found great amusement in his facial expression.

After dessert, the children settled down to play a game of dreidel in the front room; to everyone's amazement, Abel and Ruth (working as a team, of course) were the winners and so won the pot of chocolate gelt between them. The children wanted to play another game (for Toby and Phoenix were _certain_ that they would win the next game), but because it was already starting to get rather late, Jacob and Queenie were adamant that they return home.

"You guys don't wanna miss Santa, do you?" Jacob asked excitedly. "Yeah – come on, guys, we can leave Santa some babkas and milk."

Once they had left, Newt turned to his own children and grinned at them. "Alright, you three – Santa will be arriving in England soon, and you need to be asleep when he comes to visit."

"But I wanna play another game," Leo yawned, swaying on the spot. "Wanna win."

"I'll tell you what," Newt began, reaching out and taking his youngest son by the hand. "We'll invite everyone over tomorrow _very_ early so you can play – and I'll play with you this time, if you want."

Phoenix smirked to himself. "Don't listen to Dad, Leo, he's awful at spinning it: at least Mum knows how to spin it properly."

The children were relatively easy to get into bed, however, going rather willingly with the promise of Christmas and seven more days of Hanukkah in the future; Leo was asleep before his parents finished tucking him in, and Phoenix just smiled tiredly as he said goodnight. Linnet seemed slightly more excitable, complaining that she wouldn't be able to sleep, but Newt managed to coax her to try by promising that Dougal could come up from the case soon to visit. She seemed appeased by this and allowed him to tuck her in without any more fuss.

To his surprise, Tina had fallen asleep on the sofa by the time he came downstairs from Linnet's room; part of him wanted to just leave her to rest, for he knew how exhausted she was. The other part, however, knew that she'd have a far better sleep in their bed upstairs.

"Come on, love," Newt murmured, gently shaking her awake so that he didn't alarm her suddenly. "I think it's time we both went to bed and got some rest."

Tina murmured something groggily but allowed him to pull her into a standing position; she gave a yawn as she left the room, and he couldn't help but frown to himself as he thought about how _exhausted_ she looked.

 _I hope this new year is easier for us,_ He mused to himself sadly, and he couldn't help but think of Theseus; just this time last year, Theseus had been celebrating Christmas with his own wife and children, alive and well. Margaret and the girls were celebrating with their parents this year, he knew, but it made Newt's chest ache when he thought about it.

Deep down, he strongly suspected his brother wasn't going to be home for another Christmas – but he couldn't say that. He had to remain strong, had to keep positive and _not_ worry.

Newt sighed and silently waved his wand to turn off all the lights as he left the room; the candles of the menorahs by the window remained lit, burning bright throughout the night.

* * *

 **Fun fact: there was a much more depressing draft where Crawford fired Tina – but I couldn't do that to her. She's suffering enough.**

 **I really struggled writing the Hanukkah bits because I'm not Jewish and so I'm not well-acquainted with the traditions – especially of the time period this is set. I hope I did an okay job. I didn't write every single night of Hanukkah as, again, I'm not completely sure about the traditions/what's custom on those nights. Everything I've written is based on what I've read online and from other people (who are Jewish)**


	3. Chapter 3

**We're moving forward now to February 1941 :)**

 **Phoenix – 22nd June 1931 – 9 (going on 10)  
Linnet – 13th January 1933 – 8  
Leo – 3rd March 1935 – 5 (going on 6)**

 **Tobias "Toby" – 15th October 1929 – 11  
Daisy – 7th April 1931 – 9 (going on 10)  
Abel and Ruth – 20th November 1933 – 7  
Elijah "Eli" – 28th January 1939 - 2**

 **(A/N: Alice and Louisa are Theseus' daughters)**

* * *

"You know, Mummy, I really want a baby sister."

Tina couldn't help but grin as she followed her daughter to Dougal's habitat. "I know you do, Lin – you keep telling me."

"It's just that I already have two brothers," Linnet continued, pouting to herself. "I want a sister now – it's only fair, because then there'll be two boys and two girls. Besides, _you_ have a sister, _Alice_ has a sister, _Daisy_ has a sister…I want one too."

"Yeah," Tina agreed, rather amused. "But I'm afraid I don't get to choose whether the baby's a boy or a girl – we've just got to wait and see."

The eight-year-old didn't look pleased by this answer – but she soon lit up as a familiar wizened face materialised near the Occamy nest. "Hello, Dougal! How are you today?"

The demiguise seemed to _purr_ as she wrapped her arms around him, leaning into her embrace quite contently; Tina smiled to herself at the sight, shifting the books in her arms. It was clear that Dougal was rather fond of her daughter, and on more than one occasion she had witnessed them playing hide-and-seek together (Dougal, of course, was always the clear winner).

"Mummy brought some books down today," Linnet informed him eagerly. "She's gonna read a muggle book! I bet you'll like that one, it sounds so interesting – and you're gonna sit with me, of course, because you're my best friend and I love you."

It didn't take long for Newt and the boys to join them; to Tina's dismay, Phoenix was covered in Graphorn slime and Leo in dead woodlice.

"What in the name of-"

"I fed the Bowtruckles!" Leo interrupted excitedly. "But Titus got angry because I gave Finn extra, and he started shaking the tree and _all_ the bugs fell in my hair!"

Tina looked at her oldest son, raising a brow. "And what about you?"

"Bertha gave me a big fat kiss," Phoenix explained, and his cheeks were tinged pink. "Dad says she likes me."

"She's quite in love with him," Newt agreed bemusedly. "The other Graphorns will have to watch out."

"Honestly…" Her tone was affectionate, however, as she shook her head at them. "Alright, come here, I'll clean you both up and then we'll sit for a story."

Thankfully it didn't take very long at all to get the two boys clean; a quick _Scourgify_ removed all of the slime from Phoenix, and as Tina deliberated best over how to get all of the dead bugs from her youngest son's hair, Dougal started to pick them out for her diligently. Leo giggled when the demiguise popped one in his mouth, squirming slightly at the feel of the creature rooting through his unruly hair.

 _He's just like Newt_ , Tina thought fondly, watching as he laughed quite happily – he'd always been so at home with the creatures in the case, even more so than his older siblings, and he was already quite enamoured with them. On a few occasions, he had announced that he wanted to be like Newt one day, to study and look after creatures too, and it wouldn't have surprised her if he ended up doing just that.

Once both boys had been cleaned sufficiently, the whole family settled down close to the Occamy nest; the serpentine creatures cried out hungrily when they noticed Dougal approaching with a handful of dead bugs, and he was soon sitting on the side of the nest quite contently as he threw the dead woodlice into the nest. With that, Tina propped open one of her books and rested it on top of her belly; she was getting much larger now, thankfully, looking slightly healthier at six months along. She still had to be careful, the Healers warned, for she was _still_ painfully thin and at a high-risk.

"This is a muggle book," Linnet whispered to her brothers loudly, tucked comfortably underneath her father's arm.

Leo's eyes lit up. "Ruth says that Uncle Jacob reads muggle books to her and Abel!"

 _Thank you Queenie for the suggestion_ , Tina thought to herself with a smile before clearing her throat. "Alright, you guys all comfortable?" All three children nodded, as did Newt as he grinned. "How about you, Dougal? You ready?"

Dougal gave a noise of approval, hopping down from his perch and clambering to sit between Tina and Linnet.

"Okay, let's start then." She turned her eyes to the book and started to read. " _Once on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares…_ "

As was usual during the family's story-time sessions in the case, Linnet was positively alive with energy as she listened carefully, eyes wide and mouth parting slightly; Leo had rested his head on top of Tina's bump, ear pressed against it as he half-listened and gazed around the case. Phoenix stretched out on the floor on his stomach, just enjoying the relaxed and warm atmosphere as he listened to the story.

"… _She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face. It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven…"_

Newt had to bite back a laugh when his daughter beamed to herself hearing this sentence – seven and eight were not that different, after all, and he could immediately tell that she was quite enraptured by the story already. He had a feeling it would be one of her favourites for years to come, if her interest so far was anything to go by.

The book was rather good, of course – but Newt found it far more interesting to watch as Linnet started to fall in love with the story with every word that Tina spoke; he could see her falling in love with the idea of a little girl growing up in India, of having an ayah to help her dress, of travelling to a country that seemed foreign. It made his smile widen when his daughter looked over at him at the mention of the girl's – Sara – father, and how close the two were; he didn't need to be a Legilimens to know that she was comparing and noting the similarities, and it warmed his heart to think that his daughter felt that close to him.

It didn't take long for Leo to drift off, as usual, with his face buried into Tina's side and a hand clutching at the bottom of her blouse. They had read a few chapters, just getting into it, when Tina closed the book and cleared her throat again. "Alright, it's starting to get late – you guys should go to bed."

"No!" Linnet said desperately, tugging at her sleeve. "Read more, Mummy, please! I want to hear more about Sara and her Emily-doll, and about the school she's at – please, Mummy?"

"Tomorrow night, Lin," Newt agreed, stretching his arms out; he was getting older, he noted with a grimace, and his back was starting to hurt from sitting in one place for too long. "Come on, it's time we all got some sleep – look, even Dougal is going back to his den."

Linnet looked thoroughly put out as she watched the demiguise clamber back into his home. "Oh…okay. Fine. But you've gotta tuck me in, Daddy."

"Of course," He assured her placidly, smiling affectionately. "Head on upstairs and I'll be with you in a moment."

Phoenix and Linnet headed for the shed without another word, talking between themselves; Newt gently lifted Leo from where he'd been asleep against Tina's side and into his arms, carefully making sure he had his son's weight secure in his arms before turning to look at his wife.

"I've got him…are you alright, love?"

"I'm fine," Tina muttered, though she suddenly looked pale. "I…I dunno what came over me…another bout of nausea or something…but I'm fine," She repeated at his look. "Honestly, Newt, don't worry about me – all I need is to get up to bed and get some sleep, that's all."

He wasn't particularly convinced by this but he didn't want to press the matter further in case it stressed her. "If you say so, dear. You head straight to bed, I'll sort these three out."

"I can put the kids to bed," She said, frowning as she pushed herself off the ground uneasily. "I'm not an imbecile, Newt."

"I never said you were," Newt affirmed quickly. "I merely meant that it might be best – for the baby – if you save your strength."

Tina huffed but didn't argue, straightening her clothes before starting up the path to the shed with him. "I _am_ tired," She admitted quietly. "That's why I ended the story – 'cause I'm just so _exhausted_."

It wasn't exhaustion from doing anything – no, it was exhaustion from doing _nothing_ : even with the regular owls from Crawford with paperwork and files, she was bored without her job. She _missed_ working more than she cared to admit, if only because it had gotten her out of the house every day – recently, the only times she really left the house had been to visit Queenie, and those were more often than not with Newt and the children accompanying her. The boredom was making her restless, making her slightly on edge, though she wouldn't admit it.

Newt sighed, adjusting the weight of their youngest son in his arms as he walked. "I know, Tina. It's not very exciting – at least, not compared to what you're used to – and I know you wish you were back at work more than ever…if you want to change your decision, then I'm sure-"

"No," She interrupted. "There's no point in going back and then leaving again within a few months. Besides, if it's what's best for the baby…"

 _It has to be worth it_.

"Yes," Newt murmured softly, wishing he knew of a way to make her feel better. "It'll be more than worth it when they're born though, Tina, I promise."

 _It's only three months to go_ , Tina told herself resolutely as they left the case, _three more months – it's really not that long. I can do this_.

* * *

It was _dull_ – dull as hell – having nothing whatsoever to do as the days went on.

The work Crawford sent over by owl wasn't easy, of course, but it was _boring_ to just do paperwork – it was better than doing nothing, of course, but that didn't stop Tina from being bored all the same. Reading about all of these cases made her want to go and start working again, eager to help people, and it made her feel more restless than ever.

At least now she could visit Queenie whenever she wanted; when she'd been pregnant before her sister had lived in New York, of course, and so to be able to visit her when she was feeling so useless was a great comfort.

"You don't need to keep giving me pastries whenever I come over," Tina sighed when her sister slid a baked demiguise across the table on a plate. "I'm eating fine."

Queenie just hummed, making some tea as she flicked her wand around the kitchen. "I'm not trying to fatten you up, Teen, I'm just sharing Jacob's absolutely delicious baking, that's all."

 _She and Newt are plotting together to fatten me up,_ Tina thought with a grimace, _I just know it_.

"We're _not_ plotting together!" Queenie denied, shaking her head. "Though he _did_ ask Jacob to make some extra for you guys…just for fun."

"Sure," Tina muttered dryly, but she picked up the demiguise pastry and bit into it – it was delicious, as always. "How _is_ the bakery doing?"

Her sister lit up, clearly quite happy. "It's so _busy_ , Teenie! It took a while for customers to start coming in, of course, but once word got out…well, it's been pretty hectic since. Jacob's having to work earlier to make sure he's made enough of everything – I go and help sometimes, you know."

"I'm glad it's doing well," The older witch said, smiling genuinely. "No surprise, really. And everything here's been okay?"

"Oh, yeah, Teen – we're perfectly happy!" The blonde beamed as she flicked her wand and sent the mugs to sit on the table. "Toby's getting real excited about going to school in September – he can't wait to learn, you know! And Daisy, she loves the books you gave her; Jacob and I really appreciate you doing that, by the way. It really helped her settle in."

"It's the least I could do, really," Tina brushed off quickly. "You do seem very happy…I'm glad."

Queenie was still positively radiant as she sat down at the table, picking up her mug and cupping it in her hands. "We're real happy here, Teen, don't worry," She assured her sister. "It's starting to really feel like home now…and it's just as well too."

" _Just as well_?" Tina repeated, quite puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Well…" Her sister was _bubbling_ , her excitement contagious and impossible to hold in. "Jacob and I found out we're having another baby soon."

Tina's jaw _dropped_. " _Another_ one?" She questioned, clearly shocked. "Already? You guys have only been here a few months!"

"So?" Queenie raised a brow. "Jacob and I like having a big family – and we was talking about a new baby soon anyway."

"I mean, don't get me wrong," Tina began hurriedly, cheeks going slightly pink. "I'm pleased for you both, that's great news, but…I don't know. I guess I wasn't expecting it. But I _am_ happy for you both."

Her sister smiled again. "I know, Teenie, of course you are. We were kinda surprised too, to be honest – I mean, we knew we _wanted_ more, but we didn't think it'd be this soon…"

 _We're both in the same boat then_ , Tina found herself thinking before she could stop herself; _we're both pregnant…though she looks better with it than I do_ …

"Don't be silly," Queenie sighed, shaking her head. "If it makes you feel any better, Newt still thinks you're beautiful."

Tina went _red_. "You weren't meant to hear that…and you shouldn't be reading his thoughts like that…"

"He wasn't stopping me," The blonde stated defensively. "And I can't _help_ it, Teen – a lot of the time I don't _want_ to hear it."

She immediately felt guilty. "Queenie, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. I know you can't help it, it's just…I'm kinda embarrassed about thinking it. Usually I don't care about that kind of thing, but…"

"But it's the hormones," Queenie agreed sympathetically. "No, they're no fun. But you shouldn't feel so unattractive all the time, Tina, 'cause you're _not_ ; if only you could hear what Newt thinks when he looks at you…you'd understand."

"Well, I can't," Tina pointed out, looking down at her tea. "So there's no point in pretending I can… I'm fine about it though, really. Don't go worrying about me now."

Queenie merely sat back in her seat, giving a small sigh. "I'm just saying that you should talk to Newt about it, if that's how you feel. I'm sure he'd be willing to listen and make you feel better."

 _I doubt it_ , Tina thought miserably, and she didn't even bother trying to hide it from her sister, _He's barely touched me since what happened in December – it's like he's afraid I'll break or something_.

It was true: Newt had taken to sleeping as far on the other side of the bed as he could, avoiding touching her if he could, and she knew it was merely him being worried for her and the baby. That didn't stop her from feeling _awful_ about it, of course, and she felt even worse when she thought about him avoiding her.

"You should do something about it," Queenie mused, and there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she took a sip from her mug. "You know…just a little something to let him know what you want. I'm sure he won't mind _at all_."

Tina couldn't help but go red again at the insinuation – but it _was_ certainly a rather good idea, nonetheless.

* * *

"I'm sorry for the mess, Newt, dear… Margaret left the girls with me today while she's at work, and they've been rather excitable."

Newt shifted awkwardly as his mother levitated a tray of tea and biscuits to the table. "It's fine, really, Mother."

Florence Scamander smiled weakly, looking rather tired as she sat down opposite him – it hadn't been easy for her at all, he knew; ever since Theseus had been declared missing in the war she had looked _sick_ , and the fact that she was looking after Margaret and Theseus' daughters most days probably wasn't helping matters either.

"So, how have things been, dear? How is Tina?"

"She's…fine," He answered carefully – he hadn't mentioned the incident from December to his parents, mostly because he hadn't _seen_ them, and it would perhaps be unwise to mention it now two months later. "I suppose she's rather bored of not working now, but apart from that…she's doing well."

"And she's eating? She looked so skinny last time I saw her," Florence sighed, shaking her head. "She's always been a skinny thing, of course, but lately…and with the baby…well, I'm sure you understand." He nodded, avoiding her eyes as he reached for his mug of tea. "How are the children?"

Newt gave a small shrug. "They're fine too, Mother – we're all fine. Phoenix is getting rather excited because he knows Toby will be going to Hogwarts in September, and then next year it'll be his turn; Linnet is still rather excitable about the new baby – she keeps begging for a sister, despite the fact we keep telling her we won't know until the baby's born. And then Leo…is Leo."

"Leo is like you," His mother mused fondly. "Quiet, keeps mostly to himself – he certainly loves his creatures. Well, I'm glad to hear that they're all getting on so well; I wish you brought them over to visit more often, Newt. Your father and I do miss having them come over."

"I'm sorry," He apologized softly. "It's been rather busy lately, that's all; between Jacob and Queenie moving in and the new baby…well, there hasn't been a great deal of time for anything else." He paused, hesitating before continuing. "May I ask… I haven't seen Margaret since before…well, since before Theseus went _missing_. Is she…How is she?"

Florence's weak smile faded quickly. "She's not doing very well at all; she's working overtime to provide for the children, and we're helping as much as we can, but…but she's very _distraught_ still over the news."

This didn't particularly surprise Newt: he knew if Tina were to go missing while on active duty…well, the thought made him want to shudder. It was only to be expected that his sister-in-law was miserable by Theseus going missing.

"The girls miss him," His mother continued sadly, looking down at her cup as her eyes glistened. "They were his world – he certainly changed after they came into his life, and he spoilt them both rotten with love and attention. Alice is old enough to understand, and she cries when she's over here; Louisa doesn't know a thing, but she still _misses_ him."

"I miss him too," Newt agreed quietly.

"Your father refuses to speak about it; he keeps saying that they'll find him, that we just need to wait because the Ministry knows what they're doing…but I don't feel very hopeful at all."

"I'm sure they'll find him," He said unsurely, and he gently rested a hand on her arm. "Grindelwald will know he's useful, probably keep him alive for that reason… Please don't get upset, Mother."

Florence gave a quiet sniff before composing herself somewhat. "No, I know – you're right, of course. No use in getting upset over nothing, is there? Of course they'll find him soon."

Honestly, Newt wasn't so certain that they _would_ find his brother – but he knew that his mother didn't need to hear those kinds of things, that they would make things worse. She needed to hear hopeful things - and if lying made her feel better, then he would do so willingly.

* * *

It had been relatively cold as they both got into into bed a few nights later, a light chill in the air, and they quickly retreated to the heat underneath the blankets.

A few minutes passed as they both warmed up comfortably, and then Tina decided to put her plan into action.

Careful not to place too much pressure on her abdomen, she rolled onto her side to look at her husband; in the moonlight, she could see only the darkest of freckles standing out against his skin, his profile sharply defined. He didn't seem to notice her shifting, not until she sat up and leaned over him.

"Tina, love, everything alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine," She assured him quietly, and she moved her face closer to his. "Kiss me."

Newt's eyes widened as he sat up as well and quickly moved away. "Tina…"

She couldn't help it – it was _stupid_ to get so emotional over _this_ of all things, but her hormones _were_ out of balance and…and she just felt so _hurt_. "What's wrong with me, Newt?" She questioned. "Am I that…that… _disgusting_?"

"What? No, of course not," He disagreed quickly, and his hand was light on her knee. "Why would you think that?"

"Why?!" Tina repeated, inexplicably angry now too. "Because you haven't _touched_ me in _weeks_! You're barely touching me _now_ , and it's like you'd rather do anything _but_ touch me!"

Newt started to shake his head. "It's not because I'm repulsed or anything, Tina, I promise. It's just…well…" He lowered his head, suddenly ashamed. "Since what happened in December, I've found that I'm…I'm rather afraid that you'll _break_ if I do anything like that."

"Break?"

"I can't help but worry that it might hurt the baby," He continued, and his face had gone red. "I know in the past it's never hurt our children, but the Healer said this one was high-risk and…and I don't want to be responsible for putting them in danger like that."

Tina was absolutely _dumbfounded_. "You…You're afraid you'll _hurt_ the baby?" She asked, astounded by this admission. "Newt, don't be ridiculous! Even if this one _is_ high-risk, you wouldn't hurt the baby at all; the Healers so far have told me they're perfectly healthy. I just have to keep my stress levels down – and having sex isn't going to cause me any stress, I can assure you now."

"I didn't think you'd _want_ to, to be honest," Newt muttered, still looking somewhat embarrassed. "I thought that perhaps you were…well, too tired to do it, or too concerned for the baby."

"I _am_ concerned for the baby," Tina agreed seriously. "But _this_ won't hurt them – this will make _me_ feel _better_ , if anything else. I thought that you didn't want to because…well…"

"No," He admitted. "I did – I _do_. Your appearance has nothing to do with it at all; you know how I feel about you, how I think you're stunning no matter what…and I know you often think I'm being overly sentimental when I say that, or you think I'm saying it for the sake of saying it, but I wouldn't ever lie to you, Tina."

Despite herself, she smiled weakly. "No, I suppose not."

"I'm sorry if my, erm, lack of attention has made you feel like I don't love you in that way," Newt apologized quietly. "If I had known how you felt, I certainly wouldn't have laid here doing nothing; I would have done something about it." The corners of his lips were turning up now, a grin starting to light his face. "If you'd like, we could start this whole night over again – and I could _show_ you exactly how I feel instead of just talking about it."

A laugh bubbled out of Tina then and she met him in a kiss – it really _had_ been too long, after all, and so there was no time wasted with soft or gentle kisses before she was pulling at his nightclothes eagerly. He made sure he was careful of the protruding bump, of course, but other than that…well, it was more than easy to love her like _this_ , in a way they'd both become more than accustomed to and fond of over the years.

* * *

"Move over, Phoenix, I wanna feel!"

Phoenix huffed but moved away from their mother's stomach all the same. "It's just kicking."

"So? I wanna feel it!" Linnet pressed her face against the bump, cherub cheek warm against the stretched skin, and waited. "I don't… Oh!" Her face broke out into a wide grin. "That was a kick, I felt it!"

"Hang on!" Leo cried out, struggling onto his tiptoes so that he could press his ear against the baby bump too. "I haven't felt it!"

Tina laughed at the three of them, unable to help it; this had become an almost-daily routine, the three of them pressing themselves against her stomach to feel the baby kicking. They were even starting to get somewhat competitive about it – about who could feel the baby's movements the most.

"I don't feel it, Mummy," Leo murmured sadly, pouting up at her. "Where is it?"

"Here," She said fondly, and she took his hand in her own so that she could move it to the other side of the bump. "Wait a moment, they'll kick."

Leo waited, eyes wide as he stared at his hand – and then he _giggled_ happily. "Oh, I felt it, Mummy, I felt it!"

"They're strong, huh?"

He nodded in agreement. "Uh-huh… I felt it again! Hello, Baby!" He chattered excitedly, beaming at her abdomen. "I'm Leo and Mummy says I'm your big brother – I've never been a big brother before! Mummy," He started, looking up at his mother. "Do you think I'll be a good big brother?"

"Of course," Tina assured him before turning to the older two children. "You're all going to be _fantastic_ big siblings to the baby."

"I still hope it's a girl," Linnet informed her, side-eying Phoenix. "We've got enough _boys_ in the house."

Phoenix rolled his eyes at her. "Says you."

"It doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl," Tina told them both hurriedly, sensing an argument brewing. "We're all gonna love them, no matter what."

"I don't mind either one, Mummy," Leo told her happily. "I just can't wait to be a big brother – I'm always the little one, but now I won't be!"

She ruffled his messy hair with a smile. "I know, Leo – and I'm sure the baby will love you very much for being their big brother."

The children weren't the only one excited by the kicking – Newt, of course, had always been fond of feeling the little tremors when he pressed his hand to her growing belly over the years, often cooing and talking to the bump. This time was no different, of course, and it made her feel all warm whenever she saw him whispering sweet things to their unborn baby as his face lit up.

"Hello there," He murmured affectionately as he clambered into bed one night, pressing his face to her swollen abdomen. "Mummy said you're feeling restless today, haven't stopped kicking…will you kick for me?"

There was a pause – and then a series of flutters against his palm.

"Ah, wonderful," Newt chuckled. "You're very strong, aren't you? You'll be a Chaser, I bet, when you go to Hogwarts…Well, it's time to sleep now; Mummy needs her sleep, and you do too – but we'll talk tomorrow, won't we? And you can kick some more then for us."

"You're ridiculous," Tina laughed fondly, reaching for him. "You're so wonderfully, absolutely ridiculous."

Newt was grinning as he hovered above her, all bright eyes and freckles. "Maybe, but I know you love it, dear."

"Yeah," She agreed, voice dropping ever so slightly as a hand intertwined itself in his hair. "I do love it… I love _you_."

* * *

 **Hooray for implied smut XD Guess what kind of material will be in the outtake story? ;)**

 **Honestly, though, pregnant women can be horny as fuck (or so I've read in my research) because of hormones going crazy – so it's fun for both of them, if you get my meaning.**

 **Thanks for your love and support, guys, I love you all!**


	4. Chapter 4

**We're now in March/April/May 1941 – so close to the due date!**

 **Phoenix – 22nd June 1931 – 9 (going on 10)  
Linnet – 13th January 1933 – 8  
Leo – 3rd March 1935 – 6**

 **Tobias "Toby" – 15th October 1929 – 11  
Daisy – 7th April 1931 – 9/10  
Ruth and Abel – 20th November 1933 – 7  
Elijah "Eli" – 28th January 1939 - 2**

 **The smutty outtakes are currently being written for those wondering!**

* * *

The last thing either of them wanted to hear at three in the morning, of course, was the sound of one of their children crying loudly.

"That sounds like Linnet," Tina stated worriedly, sitting up in bed.

"No, you rest," Newt told her, clambering out from beneath the sheets quickly. "I'll check on her – you stay here."

She frowned disapprovingly. "Newt-"

"While I doubt it's anything sinister – the wards we've put up _are_ strong – I don't want you to take that risk while you're pregnant, Tina."

"Don't be ridiculous," She muttered, taking her wand from the table and getting out of bed. "You honestly expect me to just sit here while our daughter is crying?"

Newt gave a knowing sigh – the answer was obvious. "No, I don't really."

Linnet was curled up underneath the blankets when they entered, and she looked up at the sudden light from their wands; the moment she saw Newt, she let out a cry and lurched forwards for him. "Daddy!"

"What's the matter, Lin?" Newt asked softly, looking around for a possible intruder or danger. "What's upset you?"

Tina switched on the light, peering into the half-open wardrobe and around the room; Linnet shook her head, wrapping herself around Newt tightly. "I…I had a bad dream, Daddy," She said tearfully. "I had a dream that I had no Mummy or Daddy, like Sara Crewe – that you died, Daddy, like hers did, and I-I was an o-orphan…"

Despite the fact she was sobbing into his shoulder, Newt couldn't help but feel rather relieved; it was a look Tina mirrored as she came to sit beside him, placing one hand on their daughter's back. "Oh, Lin," He murmured. "It was only a bad dream – me and Mummy are still here, aren't we? We won't be leaving you, we promise."

"B-But…" Linnet sniffed loudly, bottom lip wobbling. "It was so _real_! A-A-And then I had to sleep in an attic, a-and people were mean to me because I had no p-parents…"

"Lin, honey," Tina soothed, and the eight-year-old moved to bury her face in her side. "I know it was a very bad dream – it sounds awful…but it was only a dream, okay? Like Daddy said, we're not going anywhere or leaving you guys."

"You might," Linnet disagreed miserably. "Phoenix told me that once the baby's born, you'll leave because of the war – that you'll have to fight!"

She wasn't wrong, of course; it was highly likely that she'd be sent to fight after the new baby was born – but for some reason Tina found herself shaking her head. "No, Lin, I don't think so. And even if that _does_ happen, I promise I'll come back – and I don't break my promises."

Her daughter hiccupped, pressing her face into her shoulder. "O-Okay, Mummy."

"And even if anything were to happen," Newt added carefully, wary of upsetting her further. "You wouldn't be forced to live in an attic because your Auntie Queenie and Uncle Jacob would take care of you – _all_ of you."

Linnet pulled away so that she could wipe at her eyes, still sniffling as she settled between her parents on the bed. "I guess so… 'm sorry for waking you up," She mumbled, and her cheeks went pink. "Just a stupid dream…"

"It's alright, Lin," Tina assured her, forcing a tired smile onto her face. "Honestly, we're just glad you're okay now; we thought something was really wrong."

They easily managed to coax Linnet back into bed and beneath the blankets, and it was only when Tina stood to leave she gave a whine in protest. "No! Stay, Mummy, just 'til I fall asleep!"

Tina was, admittedly, rather surprised by this; she had been sure that her daughter would prefer to be left alone with Newt, seeing as they were so close – but she was pleased, nonetheless, and sat down on the side of the bed again. "Okay, just until you fall asleep."

Linnet relaxed visibly, stretching out underneath the covers and reaching out a hand for her mother to take. "Daddy? Can me and Mummy have some time alone?"

Even Newt was surprised by this request, looking quite _stunned_. "Oh…Oh, of course," He agreed quickly, and as he stood he sent the two of them a brief smile. "Goodnight then, Lin, try to get some more sleep."

"I will, Daddy," She yawned.

Once he had left the room, Tina tentatively placed a hand on Linnet's cheek, her other one still holding her daughter's one. "How come you only wanted me in here, Lin? Usually you prefer your Daddy."

"Mmm," Linnet hummed, closing her eyes. "Usually… But I want you, Mummy – you're an Auror, and that means I'll be safe, and…" Her cheeks suddenly went red. "Could you maybe…maybe sing to me, Mummy? You don't sing anymore, and I like it when you sing."

Singing was Queenie's thing, not hers – she had sung to the children when they were babies, of course, mostly because her sister had suggested it, but it wasn't something she did very often now. But she took one look at Linnet – remembering how upset she had been just minutes ago – and knew she really had no choice.

"Sure," Tina agreed, and she started to stroke her daughter's cheek. "What would you like me to sing?"

The girl pondered this for a moment, clearly thinking hard to herself – and then her eyes lit up as it came to her quite suddenly. "Auntie Queenie sings about a school sometimes when she's in the kitchen…do you know that one?"

"Oh. Ilvermorny?" Her daughter nodded eagerly, and Tina couldn't help but grin to herself. "I do know that one – we used to sing it all the time when we were kids."

"Please sing that one," Linnet requested hopefully. "I like that one."

Tina gave a nod before straightening up; to her dismay, she had to actually _think hard_ for a moment to remember the lyrics – it seemed so long ago now since she'd last sung it. " _We stand as one united…Against the Puritan…We draw our inspiration from good witch Morrigan_ …"

Linnet beamed, squeezing her hand in encouragement – and then she started to sing quietly too, much to Tina's surprise.

" _For she was persecuted by common wandless men, so she fled from distant Ireland, and so our school began…_ "

Her daughter's voice was pretty, slightly high-pitched but lovely – it wouldn't have been particularly hard to believe that she had somehow inherited her singing skills from Queenie. For a moment, it was almost like Tina _was_ with Queenie, singing to help her sleep or to cheer her up when things got too difficult – and the comparison made her feel rather warm inside.

" _Oh! Ilvermorny-Massachusetts! We choo-choose it! We choo-choose it! The wizard school supreme_! _Your castle walls, they kept us safe, the days with you a dream!_ "

Newt was _not_ going to be happy with the fact their daughter knew the entire _Ilvermorny_ school song before the Hogwarts one, Tina thought in amusement; the school rivalry still hadn't subsided between him and Queenie over the past few years – even with it looking likely the Kowalski children would all attend Hogwarts, Tina just _knew_ Queenie wouldn't give up her point.

" _You taught us all our magic, and now one thing's quite clear_ -"

 _"Where'er we roam_ ," Linnet broke away happily, and she looked to her mother to continue.

Tina gave a small laugh before singing again. " _Where'er we roam_."

" _Our one true home…_ "

" _Our one and own…_ "

 _"Is Ilvermorny dear!_ " They finished together, and Linnet was giggling to herself almost immediately; even though her eyelids were starting to droop, it was obvious that she had very much enjoyed singing along.

Tina brushed back some hair from her daughter's face and smiled fondly. "That was great, Lin – Auntie Queenie would be pretty proud of that."

Linnet grinned, a mirror image of her father's grin, and nestled further into her pillow. "Thank you, Mummy," She said, voice barely above a whisper. "You're a real good singer."

"Not as good as you," She teased, helping to adjust the duvet over the girl before standing up and going to turn off the light. "Alright, get some sleep now, Linnet. Sweet dreams."

"Night," Linnet mumbled, on the brink of sleep already; her mother was almost out the door when her voice piped up again, quiet but clear. "Love you, Mummy."

"Yeah," Tina murmured, unable to keep the affectionate smile from her face as she looked across the room. "I love you too."

* * *

"You're looking much healthier, Tina, dear…I take it Newt has been feeding you up then?"

Tina couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Yeah, him and my sister both. They're definitely plotting together, even if they won't admit it."

"Ah, well, I'm glad."

Her mother-in-law was a rather formidable - but kind – woman; it was easy to see where Newt had gotten his compassion for magical creatures from when one saw Florence Scamander with her rather fancily-bred hippogriffs. There was an obvious kind of maternal warmth to her – but Tina didn't think she'd ever want to cross her path, all the same.

"Thank you for bringing the children, by the way," Florence continued, handing her a mug of warm tea. "I know he doesn't show it, but Leopold really does appreciate getting to see them; I think it's helping him feel better, especially since Theseus…well."

Tina tried not to wince at how her mother-in-law's warm smile dropped, at how there was suddenly a sadness entering her features. "I take it there's been no news then?" She asked tentatively, though she already knew the answer for herself.

"No, dear, not a word. Leopold wrote to the Minister last month to ask what's being done to find him, but we never received a response… But enough of that talk," Florence sighed, straightening up in what was so obviously an attempt to appear collected. "Newt told me that your sister and her husband have been settling in rather well."

"Yeah, they have," Tina agreed, and despite the fact she wasn't pleased by the sudden change in conversation she still forced herself to smile half-heartedly. "The kids really love the new house – they all get their own rooms now, which is great since they were all sharing in New York, and they can play outside properly too."

The older woman nodded with understanding. "Yes, that must be lovely for them… And how is the bakery?"

"It's doing swell," She affirmed. "Queenie wanted me to thank you and Leopold for helping them secure the store last October – they both really appreciate it. It's made the move easier for Jacob, I think, since he was very upset about leaving the one in New York…but he loves the new one too. They're all very happy here – Queenie and Jacob are even expecting another baby soon."

"Another one?" Florence's face lit up; she loved children, always spoiling her grandchildren with attention, and Tina just _knew_ she would most likely spoil the Kowalski children too if she ever saw them. "Oh, how wonderful! You must give my congratulations, Tina, dear – new babies always make things seem so much less awful, even with this war going on…things don't seem as hopeless."

Tina put a hand on her belly, thinking about the new baby due in May – even with all of the boredom and stress of pregnancy, she knew that she and Newt would love and adore this baby as much as they did with their older three children. As silly as it may have sounded, her mother-in-law was _right_ ; when there was something to love, something or someone to care about, it made things seem somewhat more hopeful and meaningful.

"Have you thought of any names for the baby?" Florence asked suddenly, clearly trying to change the subject again.

"Oh…erm…not really," Tina admitted. "Newt and I haven't talked about it…we didn't talk about it with the other three either, actually…the names kinda just came to us on the spot."

The older woman gave a soft laugh. "Why doesn't it surprise me? Newt's always had a habit of naming things on a whim… It might be worth thinking about, at the very least." She stood up from the table, taking her cup over to the sink; Tina watched as she peered out of the window, no doubt examining the children as they helped their grandfather outside. "The grandchildren really bring the best out of Leopold."

"Oh?"

"Yes…he never used to interact like that with Theseus or Newt," Florence observed, somewhat sadly. "He was always too busy at the Ministry to really want to do things outdoors with them; he very much wanted both of them to follow him and work for the Ministry too. Theseus suited it, of course…he was adaptable like that…but Newt…" She gave a sigh. "He loves Newt, of course, but sometimes he doesn't _understand_ him and his love of creatures – he tries, he really does. Leopold has always just wanted the best for both of the boys: to have good jobs, a nice life, to be _happy_ – Theseus has always fit in, no matter where he's gone or what he's done, but Newt found it so _difficult_."

Tina thought back to when she had first met Newt; before they had met in New York, before he had met Queenie and Jacob, she was quite certain he had had very few (if any) human friends. Her husband was awkward but kind and good-hearted – he was eccentric, and he had admitted on many occasions that people found him _odd_ , that he _annoyed_ people…it made her feel ache inside to think about.

"He loves Newt," Her mother-in-law continued. "He always will – and that's why he does what he does, Tina. He just wants Newt to be happy. When he saw how the others treated him at Hogwarts – how they bullied him for being so different – he only wanted Newt to fit in so that they _wouldn't_ be so unkind."

She knew for herself how awful it was not to fit in; she hadn't been popular at Ilvermorny, that had always been Queenie, and how she would have given anything to have felt like she belonged sometimes. She thought about her children, about how they might fare when they went to school, and it made her feel somewhat anxious; she couldn't protect them when they went to Hogwarts, couldn't stop the others from doing or saying mean things.

But she also thought about Phoenix's grin whenever he managed to catch the Niffler, about Linnet playing hide-and-seek with Dougal for hours on end, about Leo chattering away to the Bowtruckles contently – and Tina knew right there and then that she wouldn't want them to change for anything.

* * *

"I just can't believe Daisy's ten now," Queenie sighed, shaking her head as she reached for her mug. "I'm feeling _old_ , Teen; Toby's eleven, Daisy's ten…the twins'll both be eight by the end of the year…"

"How do you think _I_ feel?" Tina asked dryly, not even looking up from her knitting. "I'm _older_ than you, Queenie – if you're _old_ then I definitely am."

"I never said I _was_ old…just that I felt it."

There was a silence as Queenie put her tea down and Tina continued to knit, the only noise being that of the knitting needles clinking together.

Finally, the younger witch smiled to herself fondly. "You're knitting a blanket for the baby? It'll be May by the time they come."

"So?" Tina asked, somewhat defensively. "Babies get cold easily…I don't want them freezing or anything. Besides," She sighed in frustration. "I'm making a mess of it; I stopped doing it for a while, got so busy with work and everything, and now I'm getting holes everywhere."

"I'm sure the baby will love it," Her sister assured her. "Remember when you made stuff for me and Jacob when we was expecting Toby? You sent over the cutest little hat for him – he looked so adorable! I felt like the proudest mother in the world, Teen, wheeling him down the street with his little blue hat on."

The older witch had gone red at this. "I remember. Toby was a very beautiful baby."

"He was," Queenie agreed fondly. "He had these little cherub cheeks, and these big brown eyes…oh, it used to melt my heart, Teenie, looking at him." She paused, clearly hearing her sister's thoughts, and then gave a giggle. "Oh, I'm sure the Erumpent _loved_ that."

"She did actually," Tina agreed, grinning to herself knowingly. "She used to get all moody whenever Newt took the blanket off her back – it's a shame it got caught on her horn and exploded, really…the pink really was a good color for her."

Knitting had actually become a rather therapeutic way of venting her restlessness, she found; if she couldn't work and do anything useful for the Ministry, then at least she could be somewhat productive by making blankets and other things for the new baby. To add, Linnet had seen her knitting a few days prior and requested a hat of her own – both of her sons wanted scarves too, despite the fact it was nearly summertime.

"Hey," Queenie said suddenly. "You could make Toby one for when he goes to Hogwarts! It's gotta be cold up there, right?"

"Hmm. Scotland _is_ freezing," She muttered, remembering the trip she and Newt had taken shortly after they'd gotten married; he had been asked to talk to some of the classes about his book and to assist the older years with the new Care of Magical Creatures curriculum that had been instated after his book's publication. "He'll definitely need a scarf or something. If he wants one with his house colors, though, he'll need to wait until after he's been sorted."

Her sister raised an eyebrow, reading her mind again. "Hold on…they sort with a _hat_?" She didn't look at all impressed. " _Please_ tell me I heard that wrong, Teen."

Tina couldn't help but snort with amusement at this. "No, they _do_ sort with a hat; the new students put the hat on and it puts them in one of the houses… It's kinda strange," She said with a shrug. "But it's not a bad school at all. Toby will like it, I promise."

As she turned back to her knitting, trying to focus on not dropping any more stitches and creating holes, Queenie reached for her mug with a look of disbelief. "And he _still_ insists that _Hogwash_ is better."

* * *

The baby Graphorn looked absolutely _tiny_ in Newt's arms, wriggling and crying out weakly for its mother; Leo could only look on in awe, absolutely taken aback by the sight of it.

"Daddy?" He asked quietly. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

His father grinned, eyes shining. "We've got a little boy this time… You must be very proud, Bertha," He praised the adult Graphorn, giving her a gentle rub on the belly. "He's very healthy, if a little smaller than average… See, Leo, now that Bertha's recovered she can feed the baby. Watch…"

His youngest son watched keenly as he carefully laid the baby Graphorn next to its mother; it squirmed for a moment, seeking nourishment, before finally finding the teat and latching itself onto it.

Leo moved closer to his father, eyes wide. "It's _amazing_ ," He murmured. "He's so small. Was I that small?"

Newt couldn't help but smile fondly – Leo's birth had been the most eventful one of the three, occurring ten weeks early and in a deserted bunker in the middle of an ambush on an Auror camp in Bulgaria. "You were much smaller, Leo – you were barely bigger than a _Bowtruckle_ , so tiny…you were smaller than your brother and sister, at any rate."

His son's cheeks flushed. "I hate being the smallest; I wish I was bigger, Daddy. Phoenix is really tall, like you, and even Linnet is bigger than me – and she's a _girl_. I wish I was big too."

"You'll get taller as you get older," Newt assured him affectionately, and he ruffled his son's unruly mop of hair. "Besides, when the new baby comes then you won't be the smallest anymore, will you?"

"Oh. No, I won't!" Leo agreed eagerly, beaming again. "I'm gonna be a big brother, like Phoenix!"

The Magizoologist couldn't help but chuckle at his son's sudden enthusiasm, still keeping a close eye on the new-born Graphorn in case he was needed. "Exactly – and I'm sure you'll be a marvelous big brother at that."

"So, when _is_ the baby coming?" The six-year-old asked curiously. "Mummy's had the baby in her stomach _forever_."

"Only for eight months," Newt corrected, quite amused by this. "Well, it's the middle of April, isn't it? So it won't be too long now, I promise – just a few weeks or so."

Leo looked somewhat disappointed. "Oh. Okay. I thought I was gonna be a big brother _soon_ – Mummy's getting _really_ big, and I thought that that meant the baby was ready now."

"Nearly," He agreed, and he was glad that Tina wasn't around to hear their son refer to her as 'really big' because he was certain that it might hurt her feelings somewhat. "It won't be long at all, Leo – you'll be a big brother before you know it."

The baby Graphorn gave a grunt as it pulled away from his mother, blindly reaching out for her; Leo watched in fascination as Bertha wrapped the tentacle-like appendages of her mouth around her new-born, most likely cleaning or comforting him. It was a rather extraordinary sight, Newt thought to himself, being a witness to such a natural thing between mother and child; creatures weren't as inhibited by social niceties like humans were – they just did it because it was their natural instinct.

"What's the baby's name?" His son asked, voice barely louder than a whisper. "Bertha's baby, I mean…what is it called?"

Newt looked between the creatures and his own child – his youngest son was so like himself, so compassionate for these creatures, and he suddenly had an idea. "The baby doesn't have a name yet… You should give him one."

Leo's mouth fell open in astonishment, but his eyes stayed on the Graphorns. "But… Are you sure, Daddy? I never name them."

"I'd like you to name him," Newt said softly – but there was no hesitation in his voice at all. "You were here when he was born, and I suspect you're going to be a great help caring for him too – it seems only right you choose a name."

The boy seemed to ponder over this for a long time, looking at the new-born creature hard for inspiration; finally, Leo looked up at his father with a bright smile. "I like 'Ralph'," He decided happily. "Can we call him that?"

Newt couldn't help but grin as he put an arm around his son, looking down at the baby Graphorn. "I think 'Ralph' is a good name, Leo – we can most definitely call him that."

* * *

"I can't wait for this baby to come out."

Newt hummed in bemused agreement. "Me neither, love – I'm rather eager to meet them."

"No," Tina huffed. "I want them out because I'm _uncomfortable_ … My back is killing me and I'm _lying down_ , for goodness sake!"

"But you also want to see our baby," He said knowingly, his hand travelling over the curve of her rounded stomach with the softest of touches. "You want to meet them as much as I do."

Despite herself, the corners of her mouth started to twitch upwards. "Yeah, I do want to meet them…we've been waiting nine months for it, after all."

"We've actually been waiting far longer, when you really think about it," Newt muttered, and his eyes glazed over slightly as if he were far away. "We decided we wanted another baby four _years_ ago…and it's only happening _now_. So, technically, we've waited _four years_ for this new baby – a bit longer than expected, perhaps, but all the same…"

Tina was silent for a moment, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Newt?" He turned his eyes to her, open and curious. "This is the last one."

"I know," He agreed softly, linking their hands together. "It was a miracle for us to conceive this one – the Healer herself said so; it would be practically impossible for another one."

"No," She said, and there was a determination in her eyes. "I mean, _yes_ , it would be impossible…but even if it wasn't, I am _not_ doing this again. _Never_."

Newt looked somewhat taken aback by this sudden declaration. "Oh. Right."

"I love you," Tina murmured honestly. "And I love our children, _of course_ I do…but I wouldn't ever _want_ to do this again by choice. It's exhausting being pregnant, especially this many times, and I always feel like…like an _Erumpent_ when I'm this far along. Don't me wrong," She added quickly. "Not all of it's that bad; I like feeling the kicking, I like feeling the baby…but I always feel so _relieved_ when it's over."

He was silent for a moment, taking in her words and thinking over them. "I see. To be quite honest with you, Tina, I think four is _more_ than enough for us – more would complicate things _too much_ , if you ask me. Even if it _were_ possible, I wouldn't want another baby…we're both getting on slightly now, and we're going to be run off our feet already as it is. No, I wouldn't want another one – I promise."

She seemed to sag with relief beside him. "Thank you," She whispered, moving her face close to his. "Thank you for understanding. I love you, Newt."

Newt wrapped an arm around her, his fingers splayed over the bump protruding from underneath her pyjama shirt, and gave a sigh of content. "Yes; I love you too, Tina."

* * *

 **Fun fact: "Ralph" means "counsel wolf" XD I think it's hilarious tbh especially when you consider how Newt and Tina's grandson went on to be called "Rolf". If that's not foreshadowing for Leo being Rolf's father then I don't know what is!**

 **Aaand…I end the fic here. *dodges things being thrown at me* THERE WILL BE A FIC FOR THE BIRTH I PROMISE. It's just that I looked over my outline of the ideas and it occurred to me that it's going to be a _long_ drawn-out process with a shit-load of drama. You'll know it's the birth because it will have the baby's name in the title, like the other three do.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed! I'm kinda sad it's over – I enjoyed writing it, even if I DID get writer's block a number of times.**


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